Minimally invasive surgical techniques such as endoscopies and laparoscopies are often preferred over traditional open surgeries because the recovery time, pain, and surgery-related complications are typically less with minimally invasive surgical techniques. Rather than cut open large portions of the body in order to access inner cavities, such as the peritoneal cavity, surgeons either rely on natural orifices of the body or create one or more small orifices in which surgical instruments can be inserted to allow surgeons to visualize and operate at the surgical site. Surgeons can then perform a variety of diagnostic procedures, such as visual inspection or removal of a tissue sample for biopsy, or treatment procedures, such as removal of a polyp or tumor or restructuring tissue.
Because of the rise in popularity of minimally invasive surgeries, there has been significant development with respect to the instruments used in such procedures. These instruments need to be suitable for precise placement of a working end at a desired surgical site to allow the surgeon to see the site and perform the necessary actions at such site. Often times the instruments either themselves contain a device that allows the surgeon to see the site, or else the instruments are used in conjunction with an instrument that can provide visual assistance. At least one of these types of devices, an endoscope, is typically configured with both a lens to visualize the surgical site and a channel through which instruments can be delivered to the surgical site for subsequent use. The instruments themselves can be used to engage and or treat tissue and other portions within the body in a number of different ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect.
Minimally invasive procedures normally require that the shaft of any device inserted into the body be flexible to navigate the various shapes within the anatomy while still allowing stability and precision at the working end. During an endoscopy, for example, it is often necessary to navigate a device in a variety of different directions before the device reaches its desired destination, which means it is desirable that any such device be flexible. However, once the desired destination is reached, it is just as desirable that the device is strong and stable so that the surgeon can operate with precision. It is often difficult for the device to be strong and stable in a body cavity because body cavities generally include a large amount of three-dimensional space, which in turn means that there is not much in the way of support within the cavity that the device can rely upon for strength and stability. Still further, even when the original desired destination is reached, it is often the case that the surgeon will want to move the device during the course of the procedure, thus it is desirable that the device can easily be toggled between a flexible and a stationary state. It is also desirable that portions of the device can remain in a stationary state while other portions, most often the end closest to the surgical site, can be selectively flexible and stationary.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved devices and methods for controlling surgical devices used during surgical procedures.